Want to be really happy? Pay lots and lots of taxes

As the U.S. edges ever closer toward falling off the fiscal cliff, it seems our friends in Germany love nothing more than paying taxes. Lots of taxes.

According to research by six economists associated with the Institute for the Study of Labor in Bonn, Germans who paid the most in taxes were more satisfied with life.

Between 1985 and 2010, 25,000 Germans answered the question, on a scale of 0 to 10, "How satisfied are you with your life, all things considered?" So forget beach holidays, trips to the spa or charitable donations — if you want to be really happy, give some more money to Uncle Sam.